The List: Top 10 Pokemon I’m Excited For In Pokemon Sun And Moon

So, the next generation of Pokémon games are to be released a week tomorrow and obviously I was going to do something on them right? I mean, I did for the last 2 pairs of games in the series, so why break a habit. But as this generation isn't introducing too many new mechanics or a new typing, unlike X&Y, (Z-moves are pretty much the only thing), I'm just going to focus on the new Pokémon that are coming with the new games. But obviously I can't cover all of them because that would be too much, so instead I'm just gonna do a list, again why break a habit. So here are the top 10 Pokémon I'm most excited for in Sun and Moon. NOTE: I'm not including the Ultra-Beasts as it's not confirmed whether they are actually Pokémon or not at time of writing.

Oh and OBVIOUS SPOILER WARNING IS BLATENTLY OBVIOUS!!!!

Honourable Mentions: Lurantis (One of the best designs of any of the new Pokémon but mono-Grass typing isn't that good and Leaf Guard isn't a good ability), Turtonator (great typing, good design but I don't get the feeling it's going to be anything special, at least not unless it has a pre-evolution to guarantee decent stats, otherwise it's just gonna be there, like Druddigon was in Gen V), Oricorio (love the gimmick with it being able to copy any dance based moves the opponent uses, but it isn't going to have good stats and we all know it. Like, I'm expecting Smeargle/ Chatot levels of bad stats), Tapu Fini (Wonderful typing, great design, but over shadowed by another Island Guardian and has the least useful ability of the four).

10. Vikavolt

Seemingly the final evolution of starting Bug type Pokémon that has given us such luminaries as Butterfree, Ariados, Dustox, Kricketune, Leavanny and Vivillon, it would seem Vikavolt would be doomed from the start. But no, this one actually seems promising. Bug/ Electric is an interesting offensive typing, as proven by Galvantula and Electric types tend to be on the speedy side (having the 3rd highest average Speed stat of all types behind Flying and Dragon), which gives Vikavolt an edge over its brethren. It also gets a useful ability in Levitate, which means it can completely dodge Ground type attacks. Due to Bug resisting Ground (Pokémon logic) the Electric typing's weakness to Ground was somewhat mitigated anyway, but a full immunity is always nice. Finally, this thing just looks great. It's a cross between a stag beetle and a cattle prod and it looks like an alien fighter jet, what's not to like?

9. Rockruff/ Lycanroc

Originally this one wasn't on my radar at all, I found Rockruff's design uninspiring in the official art and Rock is not a good typing, so keeping both of its evolutions pure Rock wasn't all that interesting, even if the idea of a different evolution depending on the game is pretty neat. However, two things changed my mind. Firstly, Lycanroc gets an exclusive Rock type priority move called Accelerock, which combined with the Midday forms Sand Rush ability (which doubles it's speed in a sandstorm) means that thing will be a threat (unfortunately for the more visually interesting Midnight form, it gets stuck with Vital Spirit which just prevents it from being put to sleep). The second thing is, have you seen how cute Rockruff's in-game sprite is in the demo? That thing is adorable. It's Hawaii-desu (geddit, cause the region is based on Hawaii) and I want one, now. Still, would have been better if the Midday form was Rock/ Fighting and the Midnight Form was Rock/ Dark.

8. Solgaleo

Ok, this thing is a giant white lion and it looks POWERFUL. Well, it would, it's the mascot legendary of Sun version after all. The lore they've so far revealed of it just adds to this. It's called "the beast that devours the sun" for crying out loud. This thing will eat your celestial fusion reactor and not care. Also, it has a better typing than its counterpart in Steel/ Psychic (though, why the SUN legendary isn't a FIRE type I'll never know) and it gets a good ability in Full Metal Body (sooooo close to the best anime of all time), which prevents stat drops. So, yeah, gonna be good. Though, I can't put it higher up because it's a legendary, you already know it's going to be god-like so there's not a huge amount more to get hyped about.

8. Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales

OMAHGAWD SO PRETTY! Vulpix and Ninetales were already two of the most visually appealing Pokémon in the Pokedex and it turns out giving them a typing change just makes them look better. Of course, they are going to be absolutely terrible, Ninetales isn't that good anyway as a Fire type and Ice is a horrifically bad typing (although Ice/ Fairy is a decent, if unspectacular, offensive typing). But who cares, they look amazing and I want one, now.

6. Wimpod's evolution

This one is currently unconfirmed (hence why I've listed it as Wimpod's Evolution rather than by name, 'cause no-one knows what the hell this thing is called yet), but it was uncovered when the S&M demo was datamined and it. looks. AWESOME!!!!!! If it keeps the same typing as Wimpod, Bug/ Water, by Arceus, I'm using that thing. I'm predicting it to be very much like Armaldo, in that it will be primarily focused on its physical attack and defence, with little speed but access to Aqua Jet for priority, at least, that's what I want anyway. It's a samurai armoured bug monster thing, what's not to like?

5. Popplio/ Brionne/ Primarina

Of all the starters, Litten was my favourite to start, then the second stages were revealed and Torracat and Brionne were on level pegging for me. Then the final evos were revealed and I do not like Litten's final evo at all. Of the bunch, I think Rowlet got the best final evo, but only just and I like Rowlett and Dartirx the least of all the starters (I don't dislike them, I just prefer the others). But when it comes to Popplio's final evo, Primarina? The design is beautiful, it is going to be Water/ Fairy, which is an amazing typing (just ask Azumarill) and in all likelihood it's going to be the best starter competitively as well. Only problem is that starter Pokémon are more likely to be male rather than female which does not fit this design, so it's going to take a lot, A LOT, of soft resetting to get a female Popplio. The last remaining question is which name do I choose for my Primarina; Azura (in reference to the character from Fire Emblem Fates) or Miku (as in Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid)? I mean both are blue haired characters who are famous for singing. Decisions, decisions.

4. Salandit

So, let me lay this out for you. This thing is awesome. He can poison anything, including Steel and Poison types, which would usually be immune, meaning that your Mega Venusaur, your Heatran, your Skarmory, your Ferrothorn, you Scizor don't mean nothing no more. He's also a Fire/ Poison type, which is a great typing both offensively and defensively (if you ignore that nasty 4x weakness to Ground, one of the most offensive typings in the game). My dude 4x resists Fairy, the current most dominant typing in the meta game. He cares not for your Sylveon, nor you Florges. Why do you think he looks so smug? He's also seriously cool looking and will have an evolution (which we know about due to the datamine) that I would include here if I could find any damn pictures of the thing.

3. Tapu Koko

Say hello to Mele Mele island's guardian and officially the best Pokémon ever to be based on a combination of a chicken and a totem poll, not that there was much competition. He's an Electric/ Fairy type, which is nice because we needed a good one of those (Dedenne is embarrassing), and that typing is pretty nice offensively and even better defensively. He also gets a new ability which summons Electric Terrain upon switch in, preventing any Pokemon from sleeping and powering up Electric type moves (which means he's be a nightmare for your standard Suicune). It's likely to be a very powerful Pokémon anyway, given that he is used by the Kahuna of Mele Mele island, but I can see him being a really fun 'mon to play with, both in-game and in competitive. I mean, all of the guardians look great and are going to be amazing, but I have to give the nod to the O.G one.

2. Jangmo-o/ Hakamo-o/ Komo-o

So, my favourite types are Fighting and Dragon. These Pokémon are Dragon/ Fighting types. I like these Pokémon. Also, Jangmo-o is another Pokémon that looks adorable in the demo and Hakamo-o doesn't look too shabby either. They get decent abilities in Bulletproof (which gives immunity to moves like Shadow Ball and Energy Ball) and Soundproof (which gives immunity to sound based moves such as Roar or, crucially, Hyper Voice, which has become a favourite of the Pixilate partners Sylveon and Mega Gardvoir). Likely to be the pseudo-legendaries of this generation (i.e. a 3 stage evolution line where the final evolution has a base stat total of 600, the same as some legendaries) and the psuedo's are always awesome. I mean, just ask Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Garchomp, Hydreigon or Goodra (one of my top 3 favourite Pokémon of all time currently).

1. Type: Null/ Silvally

So, the chimera's. Now, there's an obvious reason to be excited about these two, especially Silvally, but we'll get to that in a minute. Firstly, let's cover the lore behind these guys. Type: Null was created from many different Pokémon so as it could cope with many different battle situations and it's power is meant to rival a Pokémon spoken of only in myth. It's power is controls by the mask on its head, which hinders it due to the mask's great weight. However, when it gains a partner it can trust, it will break the mask and become Silvally. That is a serious backstory. And it gets better because Silvally is basically Arceus. It has the ability to change it's typing depending on the item it is holding and this also affects its signature move, Multi-Attack, which is exactly the same as Arceus and Judgement. This Pokémon will quite literally be God-Status when you get it, I can promise you that. Just give him a similar movepool to Arceus (I want this thing to get Extreme Speed with a passion) and you're set. I'm just hoping that it isn't banned for being over-powered in competitive, because Lord knows Arceus was never allowed for a reason.

So that's my list. What about you guys? What Pokémon are you most excited about in Sun and Moon? Let me know in the comments below.

2 Responses to The List: Top 10 Pokemon I’m Excited For In Pokemon Sun And Moon

I for one am super excited for my bow-tie bearing gentleman owl! Rowlett is the most adorable starter since Oshawott. His final evo’s ghost/grass typing kind of threw me for a loop, but I’m still dedicated to picking him as my starter.

Similarly excited for Ice/Fairy Ninetales and also Alolan Raichu. What a psychic-surfboard-tailed-pancake-based-origin-bearing little cutie!

Also two things:

1) From what’s I’ve seen Wimpod’s evo is called Golisopod (r/pokemon on reddit has had consistently good info on the data mines)

2) Salandit’s evo is called Salazzle and is apparently a female-only evo. And in true “this is why we can’t have nice things, GameFreak” fashion, Salandit’s gender ratio is DECIDEDLY male biased. It’s Vespiquen all over again…

@DiCicatriz- Yeah, I’ve seen all of the competitive leaks (nothing to do with story or anything) so I’m aware of all of that. This was put together last week before any of that stuff came out and all I can say is, God damn they did some of the ‘mon’s from this generation dirty. Everything is either really slow or fast but not strong, there’s no in-between. At least most ‘mon’s got good movepools, but some of the abilities are terrible.